Even the French supermarket chain Carrefour brought out its own Easter collection of whimsical springtime animals shaped like Easter eggs. Photo courtesy Carrefour. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

Paris, France — Easter eggs are more than a commercial affair during the Easter season, for the egg symbolizes birth and re-birth, a symbolism that is anchored in mythologies and ancient civilizations the world over. The egg symbolizes the arrival of spring and the renewal of nature as well. Eggs are regarded in many cultures as a force of life and vitality. Chocolate Easter eggs apparently came on the scene in Europe in the 19th century and have since formed the basis of chocolate collections brought out in the springtime. And they are still very much a part of the gourmet scene with French pastry chefs and chocolate makers fashioning seemingly impossible and intricate Easter-themed creations.

The Parisian house of Fauchon — founded in 1886 — brought out an egg-filled Easter garden with rich dark chocolate eggs hand-made and painted by the house’s craftsmen. Photo courtesy Fauchon. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

The Easter collection at Lenôtre was inspired by the bells of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris. Pictured here is the collection’s masterpiece drawing its inspiration from Le Bourdon, the largest of the cathedral’s bells. Photo courtesy Lenôtre. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

Famed French chocolate maker Patrick Robert who is also a confirmed and sought-after sculptor opted for whimsical dark chocolate sheep to be the stars of his rich collection. Photo courtesy Patrick Robert. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

Executive pastry chef Julien Alvarez at the house of Ladurée imagined a springtime egg and Easter collection dubbed Mimosa with the egg in white chocolate lined with dark chocolate and filled with the house’s celebrated Eugénie macaroons. Photo courtesy Ladurée. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette